Maggie Pill Mysteries

 The second book of the Cats & Crimes Mysteries is with the editor, so I had time to think about covers and such. Before I forget, we chose Esmeralda as the new cat's name, and we'll call her Esme for short. Thanks to all who made suggestions. Somewhere, I have the name of the person who suggested Esme, and she will get a free copy of the book when it's available. Now, as for the cover. Please tell me what you think, because I can ask for changes if something doesn't look right.

  Cat lovers love their cats, but sometimes we have to admit that they aren't all Einsteins. A relative adopted a stray who came to her door, a beautiful short-haired gray. It soon became obvious that he was either developmentally disabled or had had a traumatic head injury. The unkind would say that he was dumb, like Lorilee's Special Ed. The cat, which she called Dickie, could not learn and did not have an apparent thought process. He existed in the Now, and the Now was hungry and unhappy with where he was. If he was inside, Dickie wanted to be out. If he was outside, he wailed to come in, only to turn around and sit by the door, asking to go out again. Dickie liked his food cheap and smelly, and any time his hostess entered the kitchen, he became convinced he was starving. He'd go in and out between her feet until she gave him something--or pretended to. He'd follow her to the food dish, watch her mime dropping something into it, and look eagerly into the bowl when s...

Here are the answers to the newsletter quiz. If you don't get my newsletter, sign up for it! The NEWS in the newsletter is that THIRD CRIME'S THE CHARM releases on April 4th. HERE is the link to it on all major book-sellers' sites.

  The third Trailer Park Tale, THIRD CRIME'S THE CHARM, has taken its first baby step.  This time the folks at Beautiful Bird RV Park have to deal with (you guessed it) three crimes, the most serious one the disappearance of the local detective they've come to know a little. People don't just come to the park and vanish, but that's what Detective O'Connor apparently did. Of course the intrepid couples who solved the other crimes can't ignore this one, and as they investigate, they find two other suspicious situations. Once I have a manuscript sorta-kinda ready for someone else to read, I send it to what I think of as my First Editor. She's an intelligent reader who knows me well, and she reads through the (slightly rough) story to give me ideas about how things are going thus far. I respond to whatever comments she has, and I find that by the time she's had the book for a few weeks, I've got a few ideas of my own. (Nothing improves a writers view of ...

  The second Trailer Park Tale is available for pre-order everywhere I can manage it. So far I only have an Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HJHQ7D5 . I'll add the links to B&N, Kobo, etc. when they're available. This one continues the adventures of four couples in a Florida Over-55 RV park and, as advertised in the title, there are two crime threads. First, Ron & Julie are asked to see if they can pin down which man living at the park might be the guy who murdered two people back in 1967. While they're working on that, rumors circulate that someone's peeping in trailer windows at night. Of course there are humorous interactions between characters: husbands and wives, neighbor to neighbor, and senior citizens against the world. Shopping for lingerie, getting a confused old man to his doctor's appointment, and dealing with a guy who believes aliens run the government are everyday occurrences for the residents of the Beautiful Bird Over 55 RV Park.  ...

I said in my last post that the audio version of Once Upon a Trailer Park was due any day. I guess I should have said in many days. Through some sort of snafu, Audible didn't release the book until YESTERDAY, which is weeks and weeks after it should have happened. If you were waiting, I apologize for the delay. If you'd like a code to listen to it free , just let me know in the comments and I'll help you out. The book is still fun, even if late December turned into early February!

A B I'm looking at covers for my new series, which is set in a trailer park in Florida. The first book will be out in December and has a Christmas theme. We're down to 2 cover choices, so give me your input, please. (You can mix it up, like the font for the author name from B but the color from A.

The 6th Sleuth Sisters Mystery, PERIL, PLOTS, and PUPPIES, just went live as an e-book on Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and all other major e-book distributors. Still waiting on news from the studio in Chicago about the audio version. I know it's in production, I just don't know what phase.

Peril, Plots, and Puppies, the 6th Sleuth Sisters Mystery, is currently in production as an audio book at Cerny American in Chicago. It's always interesting to be part of the process, and though I'm far away, I have some responsibilities. Of course I can choose the people who read my books. Since I've been happy with all the earlier audiobooks, I'm happy to stick with the Cernys. I did learn that the actress who reads Faye is no longer available, so I had to okay a new narrator for that segment. Her audition was good, and I think the books will continue to move well from pages to audio files. I also try to give the narrators a list of words that Michiganders know well but others might not, place names like Mackinac, items common here but not in Chicago like pasties, and in the case of this book, German dog commands. Now I know they can look that up, but why should they have to when I have a friend who taught German for decades? She kindly provided me with phonetics...

I have three weeks to make sure everything is AOK for the 6th Sleuth Sisters Mystery, Peril, Plots, and Puppies. I think I'm ready. Preorders are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Peril-Plots-Puppies-Sisters-Mystery-ebook/dp/B078V8X9J6 It will be available from all ebook providers, B&N, Kobo, etc. Print version is coming along. Reviewers are pre-reading (they like that). I'm sure there are things I should be doing, but I can't think of what they'd be. In this book, the sisters take on two cases: shutting down a puppy mill and finding a murderer. Neither their client nor the puppy mill owner is fun to deal with, and the added complication is that Barb was seen near the murder scene, doing a Correction Event as the Grammar Nazi. Each sister has her own concerns, but of course they come together when it's time for Sister Power.

One of the criticisms I hear of Audible is how expensive audio books are, and I sympathize. Many of my fans save credits or scrimp to buy my newest book, and it's discouraging for authors, who know a new listener probably isn't going to risk $20 plus to try her book. Lately they seem to be getting it, and I have had two hopeful signs. One is that they put my old MACBETH'S NIECE release (written as Peg Herring) into a special romance category that gives readers a price break. The other is that they're having a sale this week (Feb. 18 to 25) on "First of a Series" books, and they included THE SLEUTH SISTERS for less than $6.95 (whatever that means!) That means if you haven't heard Judy, Laura, and Anne perform as Retta, Barb, and Faye, you get a bargain chance. https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/The-Sleuth-Sisters-Audiobook/B00MW75YF0  And since Book #6 is in the works, you'll have some enjoyable listening ahead!

It's a terrifying thing for an author to say, "I will have this book ready on..." A hundred objections come to mind: what if I hate it? what if the editor hates it? what if, what if, what if? Still, there comes a time, and it's here. Peril, Plots, and Puppies is slated for March 23, and you can pre-order it here: https://www.amazon.com/Peril-Plots-Puppies-Sisters-Mystery-ebook/dp/B078V8X9J6 If you've missed any of the former books, you've got two months to get caught up!

Working Cover Files If you keep up with my adventures, you know I was conflicted about a sixth Sleuth Sisters book. I do NOT want to be the author who stretches a series beyond logic, and I feel strongly that if I'm not interested in the plot, my readers won't be either. That was reinforced this past week as I read a book by one of my favorite authors, who has a long-running series I've always liked. The new story was beyond belief, with the detective getting naked in front of a crowd of people to force a confrontation that made very little sense and wasn't believable, at least for me. I never want the Maggie Pill name attached to a book just to have a new one out there. With that said, I found myself interested in the sisters again somewhere in August, and the questions began. What if Barb is caught, or almost caught, doing her Grammar Nazi thing? What if it's because there's a murder nearby, so the Nazi is a suspect? That was the germ of the idea for Boo...

If you read the last few weeks' entries, you know the scenario for the next (5th!) Sleuth Sisters Mystery. Now we need a title. Here are the basics: Still three sisters Setting is a winery on the Leelanau Peninsula north of Traverse City, MI Case is investigating the possibility of "turning" the wife of a drug lord into an FBI informant Venue is a retreat for 50-plus women who aren't "liberated" and don't want to be Focus is a fashion show that will conclude the weekend and launch the fashion design career of the drug lord's long-suffering wife Witnessing a murder begins a tough time for Faye and Retta  Possible titles: Wine, Women, and Murder Girls' Weekend for Murder Dying to Be Chic I'm not in love with any of those, so if you have an idea, send it along--please!

I told them I won't go. FBI or not, I can't stomach a full weekend of women gushing about spa treatments and this fall's must-have base color. Twaddle, as my Cornish co-worker used to say. If Faye is willing to accompany Retta and chat up this Dina Engel woman, good for her. I've looked into the situation and spoken with the FBI agent in charge. It isn't a dangerous assignment, since the woman's drug king/husband shows little interest in her new career and will remain in Detroit. The agent simply needs a couple of over-fifty women who fit in with Love-able Ladies (yes, they really do add the hyphen), and Lars suggested us. Retta certainly fits the profile of a Love-able Ladies groupie, and Faye will be her chaperone. I don't think they can possibly get into any trouble.

Retta told you about the case on the Leelanau Peninsula. We're looking into the possibility of turning a drug lord's wife into an FBI informant. It seemed odd to me at first, since the woman has been married to the guy for decades, but the agent in charge says she seems to have changed over the last year or so. She's starting a fashion design business, and for the first time ever, appearing in public on her own. He thinks it means she's sick of the thug life. I guess that could be true, but my theory is that in this world of opportunism, the publicity would be a huge help in launching her business. Either way, we're going to attend the retreat where she will do a "mini-reveal" (I know, who cares?) of her new line of clothing for "mature" women. My comment on that? If your husband doesn't love you with lumps, he never really loved you in the first place.

I'm here to give you a taste of the fifth Sleuth Sisters mystery, and it's so much fun! We take on a case for the FBI, and it involves a weekend at a winery/inn on the Leelanau Peninsula north of Traverse City, Michigan. I've always wanted to stay over there, and St. Millicent's is the newest, chicest (if that's a word) property in northern Michigan. The retreat celebrates the joys of being a mature woman, so there will be inspirational speakers, products and practices geared to women, PLUS food, fashion and wine! Hosted by Love-able Ladies, the retreat is all about why women should be happy to be women, whatever their age and body type. Of course Barbara Ann is going to hate every minute of it. I wonder if there's some way I could leave her home...

Buy it here Of course you know by now that the 4th Sleuth Sisters Mystery releases today. If you don't, I'm not sure what I could have done differently. I'm on two blogs. I'm featured on a book lover's site. I sent out newsletters. I delivered early copies to Tom's so the locals can have first looks. I tweeted. I Facebooked. I sent out postcards to libraries and bookstores. All you have to do is enjoy the book...unless you're willing to write a review somewhere. That would be great.

Yesterday I discovered Facebook has forgotten who I am. It's some mix-up with passwords, but I got so frustrated I had to walk away from that circle world one gets into with internet sites: That's not the right email . Fix that. That's not the right password. Fix that. We're sending a code to your phone . Get it, plug it in.  Is this you? Yes. Congratulations. You're logged in. Hit 'enter.' Your email and/or password don't match our records. Can you get workman's comp for banging your head against your desk? What makes all this worse is that SLEUTHING AT SWEET SPRINGS is one week from its official release today, so there is LOTS I should be doing other than fighting with internet gremlins. Amazon print and e-book versions are ready. Order HERE   Audio takes much longer (sorry listeners). I hope my fans enjoy Book #4--and most of all, I hope they hear about it SOMEwhere!  

This is the final cover for the 4th Sleuth Sisters mystery. It's still a way off, probably May, but it's nice to have something to show to readers. When an author is traditionally published, she gets some say in a cover but not much. A lot depends on the publishing house. I was always asked what my initial concept was, and after that they'd say, "Here's what we did." I've had author friends who hated their covers but couldn't do anything about it. I had one I didn't much care for, but I trusted the publisher to do what worked for the masses, not just for me. As an independent, an author is responsible for everything, including the cover. Knowing I have the artistic talent of a Brahma bull, I hire people to do my covers. I've been lucky to find cover artists who can take my germ of an idea and make it beautiful. When the first Sleuth Sisters came along, I had no idea it would be a series (or so popular: Thank you all!) I wanted three pairs ...